Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White says the attention surrounding Caitlin Clark and the franchise has created challenges that extend beyond basketball as the team prepares for the WNBA playoffs.

The Fever have become one of the league's biggest draws, averaging 16,426 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse while also attracting large crowds on the road and significant national television audiences. But White said that attention has also produced constant scrutiny of the team, its players and her coaching decisions.

“There's an infatuation with our team, and there's an infatuation with some of our players, and there's a lot of negativity that surrounds anything that's different from what the fandom wants to see,” White said, as reported by Katie Barnes of ESPN. “And that is challenging as a coach to navigate.”

With Indiana beginning its playoff run Sunday, White acknowledged how difficult it can be to separate the team from the attention surrounding it.

“I think the vortex of everything that we deal with, with our team and our franchise, is definitely challenging,” White said. “It's hard to escape it.”

White has faced criticism throughout the season, including after a May 30 sideline exchange with Clark during a loss in Portland. Video of the interaction trended online and the scrutiny continued later in the season as controversies unrelated to on-court performance followed the Fever.

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Indiana nevertheless emerged as the WNBA's top-rated offense, surpassing 100 points a league-record 20 times. Clark and Aliyah Boston became the first teammates in WNBA history to record 30-point double-doubles in the same game on June 11. Clark, Boston and Kelsey Mitchell were named All-Star starters, and White earned Coach of the Month honors in July.

The criticism became personal for White in August after comments she made about a flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham. When White was booed during introductions before an Aug. 11 game against the New York Liberty, Clark embraced her coach before the Fever went on to win 106-92. Clark later said the reaction from the home crowd made her “a little sick.”

Despite the outside attention, White said basketball itself continues to provide the reason she coaches.

“When it's about basketball, and you're in there, and you're with these women, and you know they're working their butts off, it's what I love,” she said. “When I stop loving that, I think that's the moment to be done.”